4 Mistakes Managers Make That Ruin Employees’ Productivity and How to Fix Them
Running a business often looks like playing a video game where you need to avoid traps and overcome various obstacles, using different strategies and boosters to get to the next level. And even when you’ve used all the help at your disposal, you may easily fail and run out of lives.
In other words, you may use all the latest technologies and platforms to get your project through the finish line successfully, but this, still, may not be enough. Because the project’s success depends on numerous factors besides technology, including the way managers deal with problems, measure progress, and treat team members during the whole process.
For this reason, we decided to focus on major mistakes managers make that may have devastating effects on employees’ productivity, providing you with tips on how to avoid them and lead your team towards success.
- They Act From the Position of Power
You may often see managers who act like they are god-given for the job, thinking they know best. They usually use power to impose their solutions, disregarding the opinions and views of other team members. It’s hard to work with them because they won’t accept suggestions and will take criticisms personally.
We know that a self-confident leader may infuse energy and motivate the team to work towards set goals. Arrogance, on the other hand, will make you unapproachable and difficult to communicate with. This lack of communication will kill employees’ productivity because they’ll feel disrespected and underestimated.
A successful and inspiring leader will act from the position of equality, motivating others to share their ideas and solutions for possible problems. Furthermore, if employees feel free to express their concerns and fear, they’ll know that they can trust you. And mutual trust between a manager and their team is one of the cornerstones of a successful business.
- They Fail to Make Clear Plans
Detailed planes and a well-organized workflow are crucial for project success. However, numerous managers tend to lead without planning, assigning huge tasks to employees followed by vague directions, or no directions at all. This will leave employees in the dark, wondering where to start from or what their next task may be, stressing about the future of the project and their future in the company. Furthermore, employees who don’t have clear directions lose precious time trying to figure out their responsibilities. All of this can devastate their productivity
To avoid this situation, try using employee timekeeping software to improve your time and project management. This advanced tool will let you organize your projects better, dividing different tasks into categories, assigning them to specific persons, and labeling them by priority. This way, you’ll always have a clear picture of who is doing what and how much time they spend on each task. Also, you’ll see the time spent on a specific task or project, giving you a chance to set reasonable deadlines and time frames for future projects.
By breaking large projects into smaller tasks and giving clear instructions to employees about them, you’ll avoid misunderstandings and speed up the whole process, increasing productivity.
- They Tend to Change Their Mind Easily
No one likes managers who change their minds easily. They tend to make one decision on Monday and change it five times before Thursday, creating massive confusion and chaos that will frustrate even the well-organized employees.
Another thing that may put unnecessary pressure on workers is changing their priorities suddenly, forcing them to multitask. For example, if you interrupt their work, giving them some other urgent task to finish, employees’ focus will be shattered and they’ll need more time to get back on it.
This is why effective managers need to stick to their decisions once they make them, backing them up with clear arguments that everyone can understand. Only in this way, you can expect your employees to stay on track and be highly productive.
4 They Create Negative Atmosphere Within Teams
You know those people who spread negative energy wherever they go, always predicting the worst-case scenario. Imagine having one of them as your project manager.
Talking about motivation-buster, right?
Managers who always talk about negatives, like what didn’t get done, or who didn’t meet the expectations, will soon draw all the positive energy out of the team, leaving them demotivated, thinking that all their efforts are pointless.
While no one expects you to spread love and joy around the office all the time, try to face all the possible issues optimistically, providing possible solutions and convincing your team that you’ll tackle them successfully.
Now that you know what mistakes to avoid to keep your employees highly productive and motivated, try applying some of these tips to create an atmosphere based on trust and improve your project management.
